The Secret is Out
by darkmagic465
Summary: It was like any normal day for Marinette. At least it was until there's an akuma attack and she realizes that Chat Noir is worried about something. They have a talk that night at patrol. Will this change how they see each other? Will it affect how well they work together? What does their story have to say for them? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Hi everybody, I'm new at this and this is my first fanfiction, so please feel free to comment and tell me how you feel about it. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

It started out as a normal day for Marinette, Tikki woke her up right on time so she wasn't late for school, she got dressed and put hermhair in her favorite pigtails, and ran down the stairs to her parent's bakery, where her mother gave her a pastry for her breakfast (along with her lunch) on the go. She was dressed in her usual outfit, white shirt with a pink flower pattern across the right side of her chest, a brownish grey jacket, pink capris, peach flats, and her small purse swung across her chest.

She ran the couple blocks there were to school and met up with her best friend Alya on the steps in front. Alya talked about the latest news on Ladybug and Chat Noir, which was not really _news_ to Marinette, considering she lived it. Then, they headed to class, where Alya would talk about something Marinette wouldn't listen to because she is staring at the handsome, blonde model sitting in front of her. Then, the model (whose name is Adrien Agreste) turns around in his seat to see Marinette staring at him and gives a small smile and wave and she blushes and they buth turn away at the same time. Meanwhile, Alya and Nino (Adrien's best friend who sits in front of Alya, next to Adrien) share a knowing look and laugh.

Then, the teacher comes in and starts class and Marinette starts doodling designs in her notebook and glances at Adrien pretty oftenly. The morning goes on and lunch comes and Alya and her go to the cafeteria and sit with Adrien and Nino.

Then the unnormal happens. So, there is an akuma attack (another one caused by Chloe, the mayor's daughter who is also, put simply, the school's bully) and chaos breaks out and, somehow, Marinette gets into an empty classroom, where she shouts, "Tikki, spots on!" and the kwami gets sucked into her miraculous and Marinette becomes Ladybug. She wears a red suit with black dots on it and a matching mask and earrings.

She races to find the akuma victim and finally finds her in a classroom with Chloe cornered. Ladybug shouts, "Hey! How about you pick on someone your own size!" which obviously draws the akuma victim's attention.

Ladybug knew this victim. She is in her class! Her name is Mylene and Chloe was making fun of her this morning about her being a scaredy cat by playing a prank on her and then sticking a piece of paper on her forehead that said she was a loser. The akuma is probably in that paper where it is clenched in her right fist.

"Mylene, don't hurt Chloe just because she hurt you. If you were yourself right now, you would know it isn't right." Ladybug was trying to get through to her but it didn't work, proven by Mylene's next exclamation, "I'm not Mylene! My name is Brave [AN I know it's not the best name but it fits and is the first thing I thought of] and I am scared of _nothing_! And you don't know Chloe! If you did, you would know she has hurt more people than just me and deserves to finally pay!"

 _Oh, but I do know! I have been hurt by her too, I'm pretty sure basically everyone has._ Ladybug wanted to say this but knew it would do nothing for her. So, she was relieved when Chat Noir finally appeared in his black suit with matching cat ears, mask, boots, clawed gloves, and tail. He has a gold bell at his neck, green cat-like eyes, and a black ring with a green paw on it.

"Where have you been? I almost thought you weren't going to come" Ladybug said with a smile.

"I'll always come when you call My Lady" He responded with a smile of his own, automatically making her feel better just knowing that he's there for her.

She smiled back then turned back to the akumatized Mylene, who was ignoring them now and heading back towards Chloe.

"The akuma is in the paper in her right fist." Ladybug informed Chat Noir, who nodded. They both headed toward Mylene at the same time, Chat Noir rasing his silver staff and hitting Mylene's back with it and Ladybug going around Mylene as she turned to Chat Noir.

A purple outline of a mask appeared around Mylene's face and she said, "Chat Noir, make this easier for yourself and hand over your Miraculous."

Chat responded with a smirk and an "In your dreams," which got him a tackle to the ground as Ladybug pushed Chloe out of the classroom.

Chat Noir and Mylene were wrestling on the floor while Ladybug took out here red and black yo-yo and flung it into the air, calling out, "Lucky Charm!"

A coil of rope fell into her hands and she shouted to Chat Noir, when he had the upperhand,"Catch!" He caught it and they tied it around her together. Then, Chat took the paper ou of Mylene's hand and ripped it up, causing the black akuma to fly out. Lady bug cleanses the akuma with her yo-yo and releases the butterfly saying, "Bye-bye, little butterfly." She throws the rope into the air and shouts "Miraculous Ladybug!" and everything turns back to normal.

Chat Noir and Ladybug fist bump, saying in unison "Good job!" They check to make sure everyone's ok then run out of the school to stand on the steps.

Ladybug's Miraculous beeps and she gets ready to swing away, but Chat Noir holds onto her arm and his ring beeps too. "I have to go, and so do you" Ladybug says. "We're about to de-transform, and neither of us wants to see that" she adds with a smile, so he knows she's joking.

Chat stands still for a moment then nods, letting go of her arm "Yeah. Uh... I'll see you at patrol tonight, right?" He seems a little nervous about something, so Ladybug stands in front of him and says, "Yeah, and we'll talk about what's bothering you then. Now, we have to go to protect our secret identities."

She saw him nod and they ran in opposite directions. Ladybug just made it to an empty alley a few blocks from school when she turned back into Marinette. Tikki landed in her cupped hands and shrugged, yawning. "I don't know."

Marinette's eyes widened " I didn't say anything."

Tikki smiled, sleepily "No, but the question was written all over your face. What was _that_ about? So, I figured I'd answer to avoid the few minuted of silence before you asked."

Marinette smiled. Tikki knew her so well.

"We have to get back to school before anyone notices you're missing" Tikki reminded her, so back to school they went.

For the rest of the day, Marinette wondered what Chat could want to talk to her about. Better yet, why how could it be so important he would risk their secret hetting out?

So, that's chapter one. Again, I'm new at this so please, feel free to comment. Constructive criticism is gladly appreciated. Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I just wanted to mention how happy I am to have had so many views so fast, so thank you! Also, I would like to thank Akkira Nala, Bea Noir, Grimeagle 4, Taco Fox, Tsukiyo Tenshi, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, and peachgreentea for following the story! Also, BookWormQueen100 and fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, thank you _so_ much for favoriting the story! Ok, now here is Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

After school, Alya asked Marinette if she could come over and Marinette, not wanting to be rude or have Alya asking questions about why not, said yes. They stopped in the bakery to grab some cookies and say hi to Marinette's parents, then went up to her room. Alya doesn't even react to the pictures of Adrien everywhere anymore. Well, unless she's teasing Marinette, then she does a _lot._ Because she doesn't react to them much anymore, she didn't notice that only one was still up.

When Alya wasn't looking, Marinette snuck two cookies and put them in her desk drawer, where Tikki flew into as soon as she opened her purse.

Alya plopped onto the chaise, then shoved an over-sized cookie into her mouth and gave Marinette a stare, "Well?"

Marinette was confused. "Well what?" She received an eye roll for that. "What? What did I do?"

Alya had another cookie and said, "Wah woor yuah obsunt oll dey?" She seemed to think that Marinette could actually understand what she just said. At her confused expression, Alya finished her cookie and repeated her question. "Why were you absent all day?"

 _Oh, that makes so much more sense. Oh. She noticed, why didn't I think she would notice?_ Marinette thought. She gave Alya her most innocent look she could and replied, "What do you mean?"

Alya didn't buy it for a second. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't"

"Yes, you do."

"Nope. I'm pretty sure I have no idea what you're talking about." Marinette insisted

"Yes, you do." Alya insisted back.

"No."

"Yes.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!" Alya shouted.

"Yes!" Marinette practically screamed.

"I knew it. It always works." Marinette realized what Alya did right once she said that. She scowled at the other girl.

Alya laughed, "Hey, at least now you're telling the truth. Now, why has your head been in the clouds all day?"

Marinette grumbled under her breath.

"What?" Alya was growing impatient now.

"Fine! You really want to know?" At Alya's nod she continued, "I, uhh" she couldn't tell the truth. Yeah just say to Ladybug and Chat Noir's biggest fan, _I'm worried about my partner. You know, Chat Noir? Because he was acting weird today when we were fighting Mylene, when she was akumatized. Yeah, also since Chat Noir is my partner, obviously I'm Ladybug and have been this whole time. Oh, and I could have told you at any point in time, so you didn't become too obsessed, but of course, I didn't._

I couldn't say that, it would be mean. Not to mention, it would put her in more danger than when she charges into an akuma attack to record it and post it on the LadyBlog.

"Well, ummmm, I-I-"Marinette couldn't think of what she should tell Alya that wouldn't be mean or put her in danger.

"Spit it out already!" Alya was visibly impatient. She was the best friend ever, and to fill that role you have to worry about the other friend and make sure she is always in a good mood, and if she's not, you have to change that.

"I-I think that I, uhh" She was still trying to come up with a good lie that isn't a complete lie,

"Yeah..."Alya urged her to continue.

Marinette took a deep breath, "I think I'm getting over my crush on Adrien." It was Alya's turn to be confused.

"Say that again. Slower." Marinette had said it all in one breath.

"I...think...I..."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, not _that_ slow," Alya knew she was about to find out what had her friend weird all day.

"I think that I...I am over my crush on Adrien."

Complete silence filled the room. Alya looked completely shocked. "Whaaaa?" That definitely wasn't what she expected, it was written all over her face.

"I mean, not completely, but almost." Alya finally saw that she could see more of the pink walls because most of the pictures of Adrien were gone.

"What hap... I mean, where are...I-" Marinette had never seen Alya like this before. It was kind of entertaining. Alya narrowed her eyes at Marinette. Then a knowing smile slipped through, "Who changed your mind? And don't even try to deny it, it's written all over your face."

Okay, so it wasn't a complete lie that Marinette told Alya. She still liked Adrien, just it wasn't a full-blown crush anymore. She might, kinda, sorta, a little bit, um... like Chat.

Not as much as she had liked Adrien, but she must admit, she has fallen a bit for her kitty.

"Who? Tellll me!" Alya wanted to know the identity more than she wanted to know what had been up with Marinette.

"I-I'm not ready to talk about it yet." This wasn't a lie whatsoever.

Alya opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and nodded "Okay, but when you are ready to talk come to me first." Marinette nodded.

She was about to bring up Nino when her alarm went off, telling her it was time for patrol. She said bye to Alya and muttered some excuse about needing to help her parents in the bakery.

As soon as she was gone, Marinette called Tikki and transformed into Ladybug. She swung through Paris with her yo-yo to where their usual spot, the Eiffel Tower.

She beat him there and leaned against the railing, thinking about what Chat has to talk to her about. The anticipation she felt all day returned full-force and had her shaking.

She heard his soft footfalls behind her and continued staring forward with a small smile on her face. When he was right behind her, he said, "It is won-fur-ful to see you My Lady." He took her hand and placed a kiss on the back. When his head came back up she saw that he had a wide grin with the worries before long forgotten.

She smiled wider, "And to think, I thought you were done with puns, with you not making a single joke during an akuma attack" She tried to pout but her smile found its way back to the surface.

"Sorry to disappoint, Bugaboo, but that will ne-furr happen" He, somehow, was getting happier by the second, even though he was already really happy.

"Never say never," It was the same with Ladybug, she was getting happier by the second.

"I never understood why people say that, because you just said never _twice_ " He said this exasperated, yet still very happy.

They laughed in unison. Ladybug could swear she saw Chat swipe a tear from under his eye from laughing so hard.

They sighed in contentment and she placed her head on his sholder and he automatically wrapped his arm around her. They stayed that way for a while, figuring HawkMoth wouldn't attack twice in one day. Plus they were happy where they were.

They enjoyed the stunning view of Paris at night together in silence.

After a while Chat sighed and said very seriously, "I hate to ruin this but we have to talk. It's important."

Oh no.

 **Ok, everyone, so I was really in a typing mood and decided to post chapter 2 tonight and maybe work on and post chapter 3 tomorrow. Anyway, remember I will gladly accept constructive criticism and will continue to write so long as you enjoy it. (Sorry for the cliffhanger but I am pretty sure I will post again tomorrow so don't worry)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much, to all of you reading this, for choosing to read** _ **this**_ **story. I am honored. Also, thank you to BookWormQueen100, Mettabae, Taco Fox, and fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail for favoriting this story. And Akkira Nala, Aslea, Bea Noir, Grimeagle4, Joshua Summers-Fowl III, NefeliMalfoy, Taco Fox, TsukiyoTenshi, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, and peachgreentea, thank you for following. Oh, and I can't forget Lady Noir, ckim23, Joshua Summers-Fowl III, and Taco Fox, thank you for reviewing, it is greatly appreciated. Now on with the story!**

Chapter 3

" _I hate to ruin this but we have to talk. It's important."_

Chat Noir's statement struck a little fear down Ladybug's spine. Why would he want to ruin this moment? They were standing close together on the Eiffel Tower, with one of the most beautiful views in all of Paris, and he wanted to end this moment. Him. Chat, who has been crushing on her since they defeated their first akuma together. And now she was starting to feel the same way, and he wanted to talk about something else. _Boys._

"Okay. What is on your mind?" Ladybug was trying to sound expressionless, so she didn't give away her irritation, anxiety, fear, eagerness, or anything else she didn't want to have him joke about.

He sighed and opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again. He was probably trying to figure out how to word it. Which means, it _is_ important. He never filters what comes out of his mouth, you can tell because Ladybug had caught him regretting what he's said before. Many times.

"Just say it quickly and it'll be easier." She was trying not to sound eager now, the anticipation of finding out what had him so worried before overruling the fear of what he might say.

Chat Noir said something too fast to hear and Ladybug almost smiled thinking back to after school when Alya and her were having almost the same conversation. Just, you know, about Marinette having _this_ conversation with _Chat Noir_.[AN I hope this makes sense to everyone.]

"What was that? Say it again a little slower," Ladybug really wanted to hear what he had to say now, even more than before.

"I-I said...that maybe...we could-" Chat was cut off when someone screamed.

They turned to the sound at the same time, "HawkMoth doesn't send more than one akuma a day very often." Marinette said, now a little aggravated that their conversation will have to continue another time.

The duo headed towards the akuma victim at the same time, running and jumping over roof tops to go the quickest route to the fight.

It was weak compared to other akumas so it was a relatively easy battle. It was over in 20 minutes and they talked to the gathered crowd for a few more minutes. Then, they met back up at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

"Well, that was a bit of a dilemma, but now we can finish our talk from before." Chat said like he wanted to finally finish what he had started to say.

"Yeah. What had you been saying again?" Ladybug was eager to continue their conversation.

"Well, I'd been saying that I think we should-" He was interrupted by two beeps, coming from their Miraculouses.

"Keep going, we have four minutes. Then, we can talk more about it another time." Yeah, Ladybug would love to have the whole talk about...whatever...now, but they have to keep their identities secret. So, they'll have to start it now and finish it later.

"Ok...I think it's time to talk about...our relationship." After finally saying it, he looked a little sheepish.

Wow. That was _not_ what Ladybug had been expecting. At all.

"I-I, uh...don't know what there is to talk about." Another beep, signaling three more minutes until their de-transformation. They have to hurry this up.

Sensing this, Chat hurried up, "I think it's pretty obvious I like you, and I was wondering if...you felt the same way?" He looked hopeful.

"I-I don't know. I mean I like you as a friend and partner, no doubt about it. But as more than that, I'm...not completely sure." Ladybug immediately wondered if she had said the wrong thing.

He looked down at the ground and his face showed no emotion. Not sadness, [ain, anger...nothing.

She sighed then said, "Honestly Chat? I know you outside of this mask." As he looked up, she quickly continued, "I mean, _you_ , Chat, know me without the mask. As in, we've had a couple conversations." He looked at her with awe.

It was true, after he saved her as Marinette a few times, they developed a _friendship_ where he visits her after most akuma attacks.

"I'll admit, I enjoyed the conversations, but the thing is...I've had a crush on someone for a few months." His face fell then. Another beep, two minutes.

She held out a hand, trying to have him let her finish. "Let me finish. The conversations we had, made me realize that I knew you better than I did him and..." Lady bug sighed and looked at his face, it had a little spark of hope in it.

"And...my feelings for him have been fading away and...I've fallen for you." He looked really happy now, she felt bad that she was probably about to ruin that for him.

"But...as much as I would like to explore these feelings, we can't unless I told you my identity, and I don't think my kwami would be happy if I did it now." He looked conflicted.

Another beep, one minute.

"We can talk at patrol tomorrow." She soared through the city to a block away from her family's bakery.

 **Thank you to everyone reading this. I still encourage everyone to review. Sorry for technically not publishing this yesterday, seeing how it's past midnight. Oh, and sorry for any mistakes, I'm typing this late and am starting to get tired. Until next time, have fun!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again everyone, may I just say WOW! I just looked at how many views there has been on this story and...just WOW! As I'm typing this, there is currently 962 views, but there was literally 956 two minutes ago, so the number is probably going up as I type. Anyway, I would like to thank BookWormQueen100, Fullmetalsymphonia, Mettabae, RylahTheWriter, SaikuoAkabane, Taco Fox, bluefoxofshinjuku, corejudith, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, moon of starless night, , and nami84 for favoriting this story. And thank you Akkira Nala, Aslea, Bea Noir, Fullmetalsymphonia, Grimeagle4, Joshua Summers-Fowl III, MIRACULOUS ADDICTS, Mockingjay28, NefeliMalfoy, Psycho-Ninja27, RylahTheWriter, Taco Fox, TsukiyoTenshi, bluefoxofshinjuku, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, fluffy24, , nami84, onesiagen, peachgreentea, , and shipping wreck for following this story. So, thank you all and let the story continue.**

Chapter 4

Just as Ladybug landed on the pavement in the alley close to her parent's bakery, she de-transformed back into Marinette. Tikki flew into her outstretched hands, exhausted from the transformation.

Marinette headed towards the door to the bakery. Then, she checked the time, 11:47. Uh-oh. The wheels in her head were spinning for an excuse, in case, she ran into her parents, as to why she would be out so late.

When she reached the door she looked inside and saw that at the lights were off, then placed Tikki into her purse, incase she still ran into her parents.

She used her key to let herself in, then silently re-locked the door and headed towards the kitchen. She grabbed a couple cookies and started tip-toeing up the stairs and thought she was in the clear when-

"Marinette? What are you doing walking around so late, when you have school tomorrow?" Her dad's voice had her freeze like a deer in headlights, then it wore off and she turned towards her father.

"Uh, papa, I was just grabbing a little snack." Marinette said, thinking it wasn't a total lie. She just didn't say that the snack wasn't for herself.

"Uh-huh. Then, why are you still dressed in what you wore to school today? Hmm," he crossed his arms over his chest now. He thinks he has her trapped now.

Marinette barely has to think, she already thought of a good lie for this situation. "I'm still in my clothes from today because I had been studying for a test that's this week and I had fallen asleep at some point and just woke up a few minutes ago. And I was hungry, so I came down to grab a little snack." Unfortunately, being a superhero makes you a good liar, but that's life for you.

Her father seemed to think on this, then _, finally,_ he nodded. "Okay, go to bed so you'll actually be awake for school tomorrow." Taking this as a cue to leave, Marinette turned back towards the stairs and continued her climb up the stairs. "Wait, Marinette." She stopped and turned back around. "Please try to go to bed at a better time in the future."

Marinette nodded then rushed up the stairs, so she could finally lay down today. She opened her purse so Tikki could fly out and opened the desk drawer that acts as her bed, then placed the cookies inside for her kwami. After that, Marinette quickly got changed into her light-pink t-shirt and pants that serve as her pajamas.

"Well that was quite an eventful day," Tikki's high-pitched voice floated out of Marinette's desk.

"Yeah, two akumas in one day. That's only happened, what, one or two times?" Marinette was totally oblivious to the expression on Tikki's face, her being in a drawer and all, so Tikki flew out (with her cookie, of course) and landed on Marinette's bed, so they could have an actual conversation.

"That's not what I meant." Tikki was giving Marinette a look now and she gave Tikki an innocent look of her own.

"What do you mean?" She was fully aware, but it was always fun to mess with her kwami.

Tikki rolled her blue eyes and smiled. "I _mean,_ everything that happened with Chat Noir, and what you told Alya. You know, you telling Chat you like him, then saying you can't be with him because he can't know who you are? Oh, and how you told Alya you don't like Adrien (who you've had a crush on months) and that you now like someone else (Chat) and can't tell her yet?" As Marinette's cheeks turned even more red than they already were, Tikki finally decided to conclude Marinette's embarrassment, "I would call that a pretty eventful day, wouldn't you?"

 **Sorry this is so short and ends badly, but I'll add an extra long one tomorrow. Oh, and I want to show you how many views I gained as I typed this. I now have 1,191 views. WOW! Ok, until tomorrow, have fun!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, I'm gonna start this by saying I'm really, really sorry for not posting when I promised to yesterday, but my laptop had just turned off on me when I was in the middle of typing the chapter. But, anyway, it's out now and as I just said, I had already had some of it typed, I just added this at the top,, so some of it doesn't fit in with today. (What I had already typed starts here)** Hey everyone! (I'm so, so sorry for how I ended it yesterday, but in my defense, I was really tired and wanted to sleep) So, I said in my update yesterday that I was going to write an extra long chapter today and I'm going to try to stick to that. I have some ideas still in my mind to type, so I'm going to add the thank yous to the favorites and followers at the end. So, let the story continue!

Chapter 5

Marinette turned away from Tikki, who was sitting at the end of her bed, and said, "Thank you _so_ much for the reminder Tikki. It's not as if I've been thinking about everything over and over today anyways." She turned back towards Tikki, so she could see her scowl.

Tikki just smiled and said, "I know you've been thinking about Chat all day. It's been broadcasted all over your face and anyone, not just a few thousand year old kwami like me, would be able to tell that someone has you smitten. Because I am a few thousand years old, I can tell that you've been wanting to talk to someone about him all day and you can't tell Alya because you told her that you can't tell her quite yet who it is. But, I am here and you can talk to me anytime, about anything."

Marinette was frozen, realizing how right the, very old, kwami was. She wanted to talk to someone about her Chat and Adrien problem and she would normally go to Alya for help, but she couldn't this time. She trusted Tikki and knew she could help her just as much as Alya could, hopefully.

"Okay, let's talk." Marinette said a little nervously, though she didn't know why. She was just going to talk about feelings, what does she have to worry about?

Maybe it's because she doesn't completely understand her feelings yet herself.

Tikki smiled "I knew you'd come around. Now, first off, do you still have feelings for Adrien?"

Such a simple question, yet it's so complicated. Marinette sighed, "I'm not really sure. It's that, I had such strong feelings for him, so some are still here, but...most of them are gone now because he never acknowledged them or said that he had any feelings for me either. Besides, from the times Chat has-"

Tikki interrupted her and wiggled her index finger in Marinette's direction. "I'm gonna stop you right there, Marinette. I asked about Adrien, not Chat Noir. You shouldn't base how you feel for Adrien on whether or not you like Chat Noir. But, from what you said, you still like him, but only really as a friend. Which is totally okay. Now, this is where you talk about how you feel about Chat, but talk about how you feel about him as Ladybug first." Tikki was looking at Marinette very seriously, like Alya always does.

"Well...as Ladybug, I had always thought he was joking around with the flirting, that he just did it for fun. But, after tonight I don't know anymore. He acted as if he had always actually liked me. Like, _likes_ me likes me, but with him...I just don't know." She really didn't. Boys were so confusing sometimes.

Tikki thought for a moment then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand that. And again, from the look on you face and the tone of your voice, I believe you have always thought of him as just a partner and good friend, as Ladybug. At least that was what it was like until he started visiting you as Marinette. Am I right?"

'From the look on her face and the tone of her voice,' she knew she was right. As always.

Marinette sighed, "Yeah, you're right Tikki, as always. It's just...I had only ever thought of him as a partner and _friend,_ nothing else. And as you said, it was like that until he started visited me when I was Marinette." She still remembered when he started visiting her.

He had knocked on the window until she unlocked it and invited him in. He had said he was there to see if anyone else, who liked her, had been akumatized and tried to take her on another date. That had broken the ice, where she had started laughing and he took that as an invitation to stay and chat. They had talked about little things that didn't matter, but they had became good friends instantly, better than they already were. When it became the time to go to sleep, for it was a school night, they said goodbye and he left.

These sort of visits began happening a few times a week and they became closer. One such time, they almost kissed, but his Miraculous beeping pushed them apart. That happened four times so far, and the most recent time was two days ago, Tuesday.

She realized she was smiling like a lunatic when she heard Tikki laughing. "Okay, I am officially never going to talk to you about stuff like this again." She crossed her arms and Tikki stopped laughing and just smiled.

"No, no, I'm sorry, it's just you had a smile on your face for five whole minutes and I tried to get your attention and you just kept smiling. It was just so funny." Tikki started to chuckle again so Marinette scowled at her and Tikki put her arms up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm done. Anyway, more about how you felt when you were talking to Chat."

Marinette smiled again, knowing she was going to break her promise she knew she was going to break (the 'I am officially never going to talk to you about stuff like this again' promise). "When I'm Marinette and we're talking, I feel...more confident. More then when I do Alya, because with Alya, I can't talk about Ladybug really without stuttering, and with Chat, we never really talk about him and Ladybug and akumas. Sure, we'll joke and say we had a good day because there were no akuma attacks, but that's it. I also feel happier, more happy then I ever did with Adrien. I feel like...I could talk to him forever and never become bored." She was aware this time that she was smiling like a lunatic.

Tikki smiled back, "It sounds like love to me."

Marinette's smile fell. Was this what real love felt like?

Then she remembered Chat's words that night. _'I think it's pretty obvious I like you'_

She sighed the said to Tikki "It's not. He told Ladybug he liked her tonight, remember? That means he doesn't like me." This realization made her want to cry. She looked down, fighting back tears.

Tikki flew over to her and put a hand under her chin to make her look up. "But he does like you Marinette, because _you_ are Ladybug. Plus, he could have just been seeing if Ladybug liked him back so he could move on if she didn't." She saw the doubt on Marinette's face and continued "He does like you Marinette. I've been here every time he has came to visit you. I've seen how he looks at you and it's obvious that he has strong feelings towards you. Good feelings. Feelings like, maybe, _love._ "

Marinette's eyes went as wide as saucers. "You really think so?" If Tikki said yes, she would probably be the happiest person on the planet.

Tikki smiled and nodded, "Yes."

Marinette smiled her biggest smile she had ever smiled. Then, she pulled Tikki in for a big, or in her case, small hug. "Thank you sooo much Tikki! I just love talking to you, if you ever need to talk come to me."

Tikki laughed and responded "I would love to. Plus, I have to because only about ten or so only humans know I exist." Tikki had obviously meant it as a joke but Marinette's smile shrunk and she became confused.

"There are other humans who know about you?"

 **I still have to say how sorry I am that I posted this so late. Now, I am also sorry about this cliffhanger, but I'll probably update sometime on Monday. Now, it's time to say thanks to the followers and favoriters. Thank you for following this story, Akkira Nala, Aslea, Bea Noir, CrazyAshleyCat, Fullmetalsymphonia, Grimeagle4, Joshua Summers-Fowl III, Ladibugirl, LilyTheNinjaGirl, MIRACULOUS ADDICTS, Mockingjay28, NefeliMalfoy, Phantom's Valkyrie, Psycho-Ninja27, PurPlePickLePiE, RylahTheWriter, Taco Fox, The Legend of Zelda Fangirl, TsukiyoTenshi, bluefoxofshinjuku, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, fluffy24, lili2001guerra, , nami84, onesiagen, peachgreentea, , and shippingwreck. And thank you for favoriting this story, BookWormQueen100, CrazyAshleyCAt, Fullmetalsymphonia, Mettabae, PurPlePickLePiE, RylahTheWriter, SaikuoAkabane, Taco Fox, The Legend of Zelda Fangirl, bluefoxofshinjuku, corejudith, fatimaestrellitadeplatagmail, moon of starless night, , and name84. Thank you all so much! I am in the process of coming up with a good closing line, but not much progress so far.(I have been thinking 'until we meet again', if you like it or have a good idea for one please feel free to PM me) So, until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, before anyone tries to kill me, let me just say how very, VERY sorry I am. I had been on spring break when I started writing this and I had a bunch of time for writing. Then I had school again and I thought I would have enough time to write a chapter then post it really fast, but I didn't and have a lot of stuff going on and now it's later than that and I feel really bad. So, I hope you can forgive me and I'll try to make this chapter as long as I can. So, on with the story!**

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Chapter 6

 _There are other humans that know about you?_

Marinette had never really stopped to think about whether or not Tikki had ever known anyone else. She felt a little disappointed with herself for never considering Tikki's past and her friends, if there were any.

Marinette loved Tikki sure, but if she was her only friend, she would have been driven crazy a long time ago.

Tikki was almost always at her side, and when she wasn't she was somewhere else in Marinette's room.

Did she have other friends other than Marinette? Was she friends with Chat Noir's kwami? Did she even know Chat's kwami? Does she know-

"Yes. There are a select few humans who know about kwamis, and I have met most of them."

"What? There are humans who know about you _and_ you've met them? Why didn't you tell me? I would've found a way so you could hang out with them and not be stuck with me all the time." And she would've. Even if that meant occasionally lying to her parents. Whatever she had to do to make her hard-working kwami happy.

Tikki smiled a sad smile, "I know you would, Marinette, that's why I never told you."

Marinette was confused and it must have shown on her face because Tikki continued talking.

"If you had taken me to Master Fu, then some people who suspect that he is a Guardian will start to keep tabs on you. Then if they really look, they'd think it's a little convenient that everyone in your class has been akumatized except for you and Cha-a couple other people. Then they'd monitor you very closely and it would only be a matter of time until someone saw you transform." By the end of Tikki's little speech, Marinette had caught on to what had been going through Tikki's head.

"And if the wrong person found out me identity, then my family and friends would be in danger, and more and more people would find out, because few people would think about what the consequences of sharing that information with people would be. Then the people closest to me could get hurt and if that happened I wouldn't be able to fight Hawk Moth, because he could target my family. And Chat could find out who I am and not want to be partners, or even friends, with clumsy Marinette. Either way, I wouldn't be able to protect Paris, then a lot of people would get hurt and-" Marinette was freaking out.

Tikki flew up to Marinette and put her hands (pinchers?) on her chosen's cheeks. "Shh. Shh. Calm down Marinette. Calm down. It's okay."

The kwami successfully soothed Marinette to the point where she felt silly having freaked out at all. "Sorry, Tikki. I got a little scared, but even with me knowing that we are doing the best we can, to protect Paris _and_ keep our identities secret, a mistake can be made and people can get hurt." Marinette was less scared now, but she felt a little sad knowing that what she said was true. _I can mess up and end up hurting people, I am really clumsy after all._ Marinette looked down and sighed.

Marinette suddenly remembered what their conversation was about and snapped her head back up to look at her kwami. "I'm so sorry, Tikki. I wish you could have better friends than just plain old me." She looked back down, wishing her friend could hang out with her other friends, too. Because as much as Marinette loves Tikki, she at least has Alya to talk to also. Tikki doesn't have that.

She felt Tikki sit on her shoulder and lean her head against Marinette's ear. "Don't be sorry, Marinette. I love having you to talk to, and you're not 'plain' and 'old'. I'm old, you're not. Plus, you're not plain, you are amazing. You are an amazing student, designer, and hero. You have so much on your plate that I'm almost surprised you can handle it all, but you're you. You are strong and smart, so I'm not surprised." Marinette was blushing from the kind words. She looked on her shoulder, at her kwami and scooped the blob of red and black spots with big blue eyes into her hands.

She smiled, "Thank you, Tikki. I love having you as a friend, too. I just want you to have more than one person to talk to. Like I have Alya, but shouldn't you have someone, too?"

Tikki looked up at Marinette. "I do, Marinette. I just don't get to talk to him as often as you do Alya, seeing as how he's a kwami too and can't leave his chosen's side," Marinette's eyes grew wide at this.

"You have a best friend who is a kwami?" Tikki smiled and nodded.

"He is also the yin to my yang. The night to my day. My soulmate," Tikki's expression showed how she was thinking of her lover.

Marinette smiled and replied, "Oh, do you have a boyfriend Tikki?" Tikki's, even redder than her skin, blush said it all and Marinette laughed. "Tell me all abput him." She moved around until she was laying on her stomach with her hands propping up her chin and her legs swinging in the air.

Tikki's blush had died down a little and she caved into Marinette's demand for information. "His name is Plagg. He is the black cat kwami...Chat Noir's kwami, actually." Tikki must have seen the emotions flitting across Marinette's face. Happiness. Awe. Confusion. Irritation. And finally, a need to know more about Chat and her's kwamis' knowledge.

"Do you ever talk to Plagg?"

"Yes, almost every time there is an akuma or you are on patrol."

"Do you and Plagg ever talk outside of our suits?"

"...Yes"

Marinette hesitated before her next question, "Do you know who Chat is Tikki."

Tikki put a smile on her face, showing she was joking, before answering "Of course I do. He's your partner, Marinette. Did you forget that?" Tikki was being annoying on purpose.

Marinette frowned, "That's not what I meant."

Tikki sighed. "I know. I know what you mean. And...the answer is yes." Marinette's eyes went wider than before, her mouth hanging open slightly.

Tikki made a small smile. "He knows who you are, too." As Marinette starts to make weird, confused and scared noises, Tikki clarified, "Plagg, not A-Chat Noir. Though he might know and just not show it. Who knows?" Tikki turned away with a shrug, knowing Marinette was going crazy behind her. There was no chance of getting sleep tonight.

* * *

 **Again, I'm sorry. I can't say that enough. I will do my best to try to update a lot sooner than this time, but I'm making no promises. Also, it seems to me as I reread past chapters that this story is a little all over the place, so I'm going to do my best to not make this anymore confusing than it already is. Until next time, _au revoir._**


	7. Chapter 7

**Bonjour my little coccinelles and minous. Like what I did there? I called ya'll ladybugs and kitties. Anyway, I'm trying to make it up to you for that** _ **large**_ **break between chapters 5 and 6 and the break between this chapter and the last, so I'm making it a bit longer chapter than normal. This chapter is a little weird with how I made the whole point of view thing go. I had it as Marinette's point of view then Alya's, then a little bit as Nino. And how could I forget some for Adrien? The point is, I have been rewriting this all month, and I wanted to finally post it, so everything is a little wonky, but I will do my best to keep it organized for the next chapter. Maintenant, nous allons passer à l'histoire ! (I used google translate, since we didn't learn how to say this in my French class. It says "Now, let's get on with the story!")**

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Chapter 7

 _Beep! Beep!_

Marinette groaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head. The blasting sound kept going off, the pillow covering Marinette's ears having no effect on the sound.

The alarm suddenly stopped and Marinette's death grip on the pillow loosened. A weight landed on the pillow, bouncing up and down.

"Marinette. You have to wake up. It's time for school." Tikki's voice went straight through the pillow and into Marinette's brain, making her body jump. She sat up and knocked the kwami off of her, causing her to complain.

"Sorry, Tikki." Tikki responded by saying, "No problem. Just try to warn me next time, please."

Marinette nodded and started getting ready for school. She rushed around, getting changed and and thinking about her eventful day yesterday.

She stopped dead in the middle of her room as realized how she had ended her conversation with Chat yesterday. Ugh. Marinette has to find a way to keep both her kitty and her kwami happy, and it wasn't going to be easy.

She groaned then grabbed her purse (which Tikki flew into), slung it across her chest, and walked downstairs, to her parents bakery. She said hello to her parents, grabbed her breakfast of a buttered croissant, and started her trek to school.

She didn't have to rush like yesterday, thanks to Tikki, so she was walking at a normal pace while eating her croissant. She thought about normal things, like how she loved the look of Paris in the morning. The sunlight reflected off the buildings to make the city streets look beautiful and calm. This was her second favorite time of the day to walk the streets of Paris.

Though now that she thought about it, it was her _favorite_ time to walk around Paris, since she her favorite time to move around Paris is when she is vaulting across the city's rooftops, which isn't walking Paris's streets. But whatever, technicalities.

Her thoughts wandered to her, as Ladybug, vaulting over Paris's rooftops. Then, she thought about Chat Noir and him running with her. Then, she thought of what she was going to have to do tonight and she groaned.

Marinette felt Tikki pushing against the inside of her purse, as if wanting to be let out, so Marinette unclasped it and Tikki stuck her little head out. Tikki gave her a curious look and tilted her head.

"Weren't you trying _not_ to think about him? As in not getting worried about what you promised to talk about with him tonight? LIke, maybe thinking about what you are going to talk to Alya about when she starts to tell you about the akuma attack yesterday, that will change the topic so you don't have to think about Chat?"

Marinette rolled her eyes as her kwami continued on, oblivious to the fact she was making her more uncomfortable.

"Or maybe Alya will just decide to talk to you about Adrien instead." At this, Marinette froze, while Tikki smiled at her and continued talking, as if she _enjoyed_ making the girl freak out.

"After all, you did tell her you didn't like him yesterday, while she has thought you were in love with him for the past year and you started liking Chat Noir-Hey!" Tikki was cut off when Marinette pushed her back into her purse and closed the clasp.

She sighed, knowing that the second conversation Tikki mentioned was the one that was probably going to occur. She had to think of a way to make ALya happy, yet not reveal too much about her actual crush. She had to think of a way fast, since she was less than a block from school and she could already see Alya talking to Nino, smiling broadly.

On the inside she smiled, _she knew it! Alya liked Nino._ At the same time she didn't want to talk to Alya at the moment. So, she slipped past her best friend and made it inside without being detected, using some of the speed and grace she got from being a Miraculous holder.

Marinette checked her phone and saw that there was seven minutes until class started and a plan entered her mind. She smiled.

When Alya entered the classroom, thinking that Marinette overslept so she was going to be late, she was shocked to see her best friend sitting in her seat. Marinette had a language arts book open, giving off the assumption that she had been studying for a while.

Marinette knew that Alya came to class everyday exactly four minutes before class starts. So, she just decided to seem busy so her best friend wouldn't try to interrupt her. Plus, then she had a good reason for not being outside.

Alya stood in the doorway, staring, until Nino bumped into her from behind. She stumbled a little, but then righted herself and scurried to her seat. She sat down beside her best friend and gave her a look that said 'how did you get there?'

Marinette was looking down, so she didn't see Alya's questioning look, but she did feel her friend's eyes on her. She had to fight to keep her head down while not looking at her best friend.

Had Marinette looked up, she would have seen a confused Adrien walk into the classroom. Nino looked up at his best friend and saw that he had a mix of emotions going on right now. He looked both happy and sad, along with curiosity and frustration.

Alya and Nino stopped studying their friends as Madame Bustier walked in.

Marinette put her book away immediately and took out her pen and notebook, completely focused on the teacher.

Adrien put his bag on the floor next to him, pulling out his pencil and notebook, and tried to focus on the teacher's lesson.

The teacher finally stopped taking after an hour and let the students have some free time before lunch. She only said to keep the noise levels down.

Marinette froze and could just imagine the evil smile on Alya's face right now. She slowly flipped to a blank page in her notebook and drew one curved line in the center of the page before "Oh, no you don't! You aren't getting away with escaping our conversation that easily." Her notebook was ripped out of her hands, making a line go across the paper where the pencil had been lightly resting on the page.

"Alya!" Marinette's exclamation of surprise drew the attention of the two boys that sat in front of her.

"What's got Marinette shouting when she has been more quiet than usual?" Nino directed the question at Alya, slightly nodding her head towards Adrien, knowing about her feelings for him.

Alya shook her head at Nino and mouthed 'I'll tell you later', which Marinette saw and repeated "Alya!"

That made the two turn to look at her and made the blond model more confused than he already was. He looked between the three, sensing the tension between Alya and Marinette. He asked, "Did I miss something?"

Alya and Marinette seemed to have just realized he was there and said simultaneously,

"No" Marinette.

"Yes" Alya.

Adrien tilted his head in confusion, there seemed to be a lot of this going on with him today.

Alya and Marinette glared at each other, having a very quiet raging and screaming match that made them look like they were insane to the two boys sitting only a few feet away from them. All done so only they could hear the conversation.

 _"Really?"_ This came from Alya.

 _"It doesn't involve him."_ This was from Marinette.

 _"Yes it does, Marinette! This is about you moving on from your crush on him."_

 _"That doesn't mean he has to get involved! He didn't know I had a crush on him in the first place. If he found out now, it would be awkward when ever we would try to talk."_

Alya opened her mouth to respond, but upon not having any words come out, closed it again. She didn't know how to respond. Her friend was probably right. If Adrien found out what they had been talking about last night and what they were arguing about now, he would most likely freak out. Then, Marinette wouldn't even have him as a friend, which would be like torture to Mari.

Alya looked Mari in the eyes and nodded.

Marinette smiled. _Alya was going to back down a little bit. I'll probably have enough time to figure out a good story for how I don't like Adrien anymore (Well, not not **like** , just not like, like like. That makes sense, it means she doesn't have a crush on him anymore.), who I like now, and why I didn't tell her any of this was happening._

Ugh. It was going to be an _extra_ long night.

* * *

 **PLEASE READ!**

 **Thank you, dear readers, for reading another chapter of this story. I just have a few quick things I want to talk about. One, I know the point of view was weird this chapter, but I am going to fix that. Probably by having it mainly Marinette's POV, but having Adrien/Chat's when I think it fits. Along with a few other's that will add something to the story...hopefully. Anyway, the second thing is, I feel extremely bad for such a long wait between chapters, but I am going to have a lot of free time for the next few weeks, so I'll try to post whenever I can. I'm going to tell you now, it may occasionally be chapters daily, but it will _not_ be like that the whole time. So, until July, it's gonna be weird for the end of school and tests and somehow having more free time now then ever (I honestly don't know how this happened, but I'm gonna appreciate it and write as much as I can). Then, it's gonna be summer break and I'm going to have even more free time, and now I'm confused. The point is, I am going to do my best to have more frequent updates that have less confusing content. So, what was I going to say next? Oh yeah, I am proud to announce we have reached over 4,000 views, 27 favorites, and 48 follows! Yay! This being my first fanfic and all, I never expected such an interest and liking to this story, so THANK YOU to all of you who have read this and followed and faved and what not. There is one more thing I wanted to mention, I have a bunch of ideas for the next chapter and my fingers can't stop moving, so there will probably be an update in the near future. The thing is, even though I have a bunch of ideas, I don't want to only have what I want to happen in this story happen (this is for y'all after all), so pm me or put in the reviews what you want to happen and I'll do my best to incorporate it into the story.**

 **(Just realizing how long I've been typing and wondering how many of you are still reading)**

 **Until next time, my dear readers, au revoir!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, when I said the updates were going to be really random, apparently I meant it. I'm going to be trying out the separate points of view this chapter, so please comment if you think it looks better this way, or if you think it just doesn't work. Also, I would like to thank NefeliMalfoy for her help in giving me some _amazing_ ideas. Now let's get on with the story!**

 **Chapter 8**

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

School had just ended and Marinette was standing outside, waiting for Alya. A teacher had needed to talk to her after class, so she was waiting by the entrance to the school.

Mari was just standing there, thinking about what she was going to have to talk to Chat about soon, when a certain someone walked up to her and tapped her on her shoulder.

She jumped about a foot into the air, letting out a shriek at the same time. She turned around to see Adrien standing there, sheepishly. She placed a hand on her chest, trying to tame her pounding heart.

"Adrien! You scared me." Marinette didn't know why, but in her civilian form she got scared pretty easily, even though she's practically fearless as her alter ego.

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Wow. Marinette really scares easily, _but it's kind of cute._

Wait...what? He never really thought about her that way before, only Ladybug.

 _Doesn't change the fact that she's cute._

What? No, Adrien only thinks of Ladybug that way, and Marinette certainly isn't Ladybug.

 _Wait…_

She's never around during akuma attacks. She has jet black hair like Ladybug. She wears it in pigtails, just like Ladybug. Her eyes are blue like the sky, just...like...Ladybug.

Adrien imagines that he looks crazy to everyone else, just staring at Marinette with wide eyes like he's horrified and amazed at the same time. Marinette is watching him curiously, eyes focused slightly narrowed, just like how Ladybug looks when she uses her lucky charm.

Adrien's mouth is probably hanging open by now and he just realized Mari has been speaking to him.

"Adrien, are you okay? Adrien?" She looks and sounds like she's worried. Why would she be worried?

Oh. Yeah, he has been just staring at her for like three minutes.

Adrien cleared his throat and responded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

He just couldn't believe how many similarities there are between Ladybug and his classmate. There are probably a lot of differences, too. Yeah, like...um...like, how she is so confident as Ladybug, yet shy as Marinette. And Ladybug is an amazing and graceful fighter, while Marinette is one of the clumsiest people he knows.

Wait...he just called Marinette, Ladybug in his head. He just thought that they were the same person.

 _What if they are?_

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

 _What is happening with Adrien? He's just staring at me like he finally figured something out and it both confuses him and amazes him. Why could he be looking at me like that?_

Marinette's thoughts sooned turned toward ' _What if he figured out who I am?'_

Then she realized he couldn't possibly have figured out. Alya is Ladybug's biggest fan and her best friend, so she spends time with her everyday, and she hasn't figured out. So, how could he have? The only other person who is close enough to her and would be able to figure out who she is, is...Wait a second.

Chat Noir wants to be with Ladybug, and the only way for that to happen, is if they knew each other's civilian identities, too (Marinette said as much last night). That means that Chat is probably trying to figure out who Ladybug is.

Marinette gasped in shock.

 _Adrien_ has green eyes and blond hair, _like_ Chat. Adrien always disappears when an akuma attacks, which is what he would do if he...was...Chat.

He asked her if she liked Chat Noir after the Evillustrator, which he would do if he wanted to know his alter ego. Adrien came into the classroom this morning looking conflicted, both happy and sad. That is what she expected to see on Chat's face at patrol tonight.

There is too many similarities to say that Adrien definitely isn't Chat. If he is thinking about what she thinks he is thinking about, there will be a very awkward patrol tonight.

At that time, Adrien seemed to need to know something. He started, "You…" then wasn't able to finish his sentence.

Marinette realized that the one word he just said can prove that he was thinking what she thought he was thinking.

She replied, "You, are...I, um. I-" Marinette was interrupted by Alya coming outside and walking up to the pair.

"Hey, Mari. Adrien. What are you two talking about?" She stood next to them, so the three formed a triangle.

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

If he wasn't convinced that Marinette was Ladybug before, he sure was now. When he said that he was okay, she didn't believe him, which is normal for friends. But, then she was acting the way towards him that he imagined was how he was acting towards her. All of this makes sense if you think about last night and factor in Mari and him being Ladybug and Chat Noir.

 _Holy moly! Marinette is Ladybug!_

Well, he wasn't completely sure, but he'll find out at patrol tonight. He had already imagined them revealing their identities tonight, he just didn't think he would discover her identity _before_.

 _Woah, slow your roll. You might not do the bug reveal tonight._

Adrien laughed internally, his Chat side is making his Adrien side think of puns all the time.

Still, Ladybug may still be planning to keep our civilian identities secret, there's not-

Wait. Ladybug said that he knew her in her civilian form. That they had some conversations. He had come to Marinette's room a bunch of times after akuma attacks. They had almost kissed a few times, but he always blamed it on her beautiful smell...no, he blamed it on being tired and leaning forward because of that.

He's going crazy because of these two amazing girls, if they're not the same person, he doesn't know what he'll do.

After that thought, the realization that he _wants_ them to be the same person, he realized that Marinette had been staring at him while he had all of these realizations with himself. He blushed and turned away, only to realize that Alya was standing there, watching the two like they were crazy, especially Marinette.

"Oh, uh, hey, Alya. How are you?" Translation: 'How long have you been standing there, and what did you hear and/or see?'

Marinette's eyes widened and her head whipped around to face Alya, as if she had just realized Alya was there, too. That made Adrien feel better, at least he wasn't the only one distracted.

Alya looked at him with an emotionless expression. "Fine. How are you?" Translation: 'Just enough. Or everything.'

Adrien sighed and replied, "Yeah, same here."

 ** _Marinette's POV_**

Things, somehow, got even more awkward.

No one was saying anything, and the silence was what you imagine when you say 'awkward silence.'

After some time of standing there, Adrien turned to Marinette and smiled. "Goodbye. Have a good day," he said. Then, as he walked to his chauffer, he called out "You too, Alya."

Things ended up weird between Alya and Marinette. After a _long_ minute of silence, Alya crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Marinette. "What was that about, girl?"

Marinette opened her mouth, but no words came out. She honestly didn't entirely know herself, so how was she supposed to explain it to Alya? Oh yeah, just say _'What was that about? Oh, nothing important. It definitely wasn't me staring at Adrien as I realized how similar to Chat Noir he is. How, not only his appearance was similar, but also his absences when akumas attack, and how he always smells like cheese. Why does it matter if he smells like cheese, you ask? Well, you see, kwamis primarily eat one source of food, and Plagg (Chat Noir's kwami) loves Camembert. How do I know all this information, did you say? Well, I know because I have a kwami and her name is Tikki. She is the ladybug kwami. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and you're right. I am Ladybug.'_

Yeah, she wasn't going to say that. That would _not_ end well. Marinette sighed. "I don't know. But, I do know that I have to get home, I'm helping out with the bakery today. See you tomorrow."

She didn't wait for a reply, she ran the few blocks it was to get home. She said hello to her parents and ran upstairs to her room. She laid down on her bed and stared at her ceiling.

Tikki flew out of her coin purse, coming to hover over Mari's face. "What's wrong? And what happened between you and Adrien before?"

Tikki wanted an answer to her question, but Marinette wanted an answer to _her_ question. "Do you know Chat's identity?"

That caught the flying kwami off guard. She looked confused, then anxious, then finally suspicious. "Why do you want to know? I thought that you were the one who didn't want to reveal identities."

Marinette just wanted a simple yes or no, she wasn't going to ask who he was. "Do you? I just want to know if you know."

Tikki seemed to be contemplating with herself, but then she sighed and responded "Yes. I've known the whole time. I told you that last night."

Marinette's eyes went wide with shock, then she returned to normal. _Of course she did. I forgot half of what we talked about last night. (Internal sigh) I should have remembered that part._

"That's right. Then, I couldn't get to sleep." She finished with a scowl.

Tikki smiled and replied, "That's right! Glad you remembered. You should probably get your homework done before patrol."

Marinette sighed and admitted "You're right. It's time for physics. _Yay._ " With faked enthusiasm, she headed to her desk and got to work on her homework.

 _~Three hours later~_

"Done. Finally!" Marinette had finally finished her boatload of homework. At some point, she had gone downstairs to get cookies. She had given three of the twelve to Tikki and had eaten two herself.

Just as she turned toward Tikki, she heard a tapping coming from the window above her bed. Someone was on her balcony!

She turned back towards the kwami, "Tikki-" was already hiding, not needing to be told to do so.

Since she had no other excuses, she sighed then walked up the steps to her loft. She saw her kitty there, with a wide grin on his face.

 _I thought that we were going to meet up at patrol._ Then it clicked. If Adrien was Chat, then this completely makes sense.

She gave him her most apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry. No wild animals or pets are allowed past this point. Sorry." She turned away from the window with a big smile on her face.

She heard purring from behind her and then "But, Purrrincesssss..."

Marinette turned around, hiding her smile, and saw his big cat eyes, literally. She responded "But, Chattttt..."

He chuckled then remembered what he was trying to do and whipped out the adorable cat eyes again.

He knew she couldn't say no to the cat eyes and smiled when he saw her give in and open the window.

He fell onto her bed, but bounced right back up and off the mattress. He bowed, took her hand and placed a kiss on it. She blushed and said "Aren't you supposed to be on patrol with Ladybug?"

 ** _Adrien's POV_**

Oh, she was going to play that game was she? He could play that game, too. At least for a little bit.

"No, _Ladybug_ has some stuff to do." Chat actually didn't want to play that game anymore. He came up with a plan to make Marinette slip up and admit she was Ladybug.

 _That was a 'long' time of playing that game._

"Like what? I thought she was your partner and the heroine of Paris? I read on the Ladyblog that she has never missed a patrol. Ever." Chat was impressed. She was really sticking to not letting anything slip. She's probably had plenty of practice with Alya.

"Like-no. I can't tell you. I promised." She looked confused, probably since she knew he hadn't made a promise. And she hadn't told him anything.

"Please tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone." She didn't look confused anymore. More like, curious.

Chat smiled to himself. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" At the shake of her head, he continued, " _Ladybug_ told me that...she...has...a boyfriend. In Southern France. SHe goes to visit him sometimes."

He watched her face closely. She looked a tad bit angry now. She shouted out, "NOT true!"

Chat smiled, tilted his head and asked "Is that so?"

She nodded. " **I** never said I had a boyfriend. And I don't. _You_ just lied to me."

Chat smirked, "You?" She fell into his trap. This was all going according to plan.

 ** _Marinette's POV_**

She was exasperated now. "Yes, _me_! Who else would I be talking about? The May...oh."

Marinette just realized her mistake.

She quickly tried to cover it up. "I mean, I'm a big fan...and she wouldn't miss patrol for some guy...and, you're not believing any of this."

He responded with a smile and "Nope." She sighed at his answer.

"This isn't how I imagined this would go." She sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands.

He responded, "So, you admit that you knew we were going to do the big reveal." He sat down beside her, on her soft bedspread.

She nodded. "It was going to happen eventually. I just thought it was going to happen differently. Like, you wouldn't have figured it out at school. And I wouldn't be plain, clumsy Marinette when it happened." She sighed again.

 ** _Adrien's POV_**

He blinked. Then again. _Marinette thinks she's plain? How could she think that?_ He voiced his next thoughts out loud. "Marinette, Ladybug, you are not plain. You are beautiful, talented, kind, brave, amazing, and just...miraculous. You are Ladybug, hero of Paris, protector of the innocent. You are Ladybug, with and without the mask. And everyone thinks that Ladybug is amazing, too. They would say the same about Marinette if they ever met her. I know, our class, minus Chloe, would say the same."

Marinette's eyes were wet and she was smiling. "Thank you, _mon chaton._ I believe that both sides of you are amazing, too." Chat smiled at her in gratitude and was about to respond when she continued.

"I mean, Kim, you are so fast and strong." Chat's expression went from one of happiness, to one of horror.

Marinette laughed, and it sounded like music. "I'm just kidding, _Adrien_. Kim's not the kind of guy I like. He could never be Chat Noir."

Chat had to agree, Kim was-wait. Did Mari just say she likes him?

He imagined he had a look of awestruck when she giggled and stood up.

"Hello, I'm Ladybug, and I think it's time you know that. Tikki, come on out!" Chat stood up as a red blob flew across the room and stopped a foot away from his face.

"Hello, I'm Tikki, Marinette's kwami. It's nice to meet you Adrien, Plagg has told me all about you." He just stared at her then introduced himself.

He heard a beep, then green light filled the room. Plagg flew out of his ring, and Adrien stood there without a suit.

"Um, hi, Mari. I'm Chat Noir." Marinette looked a little in awe, even though she already knew it was him.

"Ugh! You two are disgusting. You already knew it was each other, so why did you go through all of this when you didn't have to? I'll never understand you creatures."

Tikki crossed her little arms and scowled, "Plagg, be nice. You don't understand the human species and how they exist."

Plagg turned toward Tikki, who had been blocked from his view by Marinette's head.

He flew up to her, and because he was flying so fast, knocked them both over, onto Mari's bed. He nuzzled her, like a real cat would and said "I haven't seen you for centuries."

Tikki laughed and hugged him, responding "I saw you yesterday, Plagg. You are exaggerating." Which he responded to by purring. They laughed together, happy they didn't have to keep their reunions to inside book bags anymore, where they had to be practically silent.

Adrien and Marinette, feeling like they were intruding, went to the first level of Mari's room.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone, and thank you for reading another chapter of this story. I am happy to say that this story now has over 5,640 views, 59 followers, and 34 favorites. Yay! For this chapter, I had help from NefeliMalfoy, who thought of adding some Tikki/Plagg into this story. NefeliMalfoy also had some more ideas you will see in future chapters (like, maybe, the next one). And I would like to say again, that if anyone has any requests for future chapters, please pm me or comment it. Until next time, au revoir!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, my dear readers! I am back with another chapter of this story! I'm sorry I'm posting this so late, but at least it's not a month between chapters, right? Well, it almost is, but there are still about 6 days until it's been a month, so, yeah. But, I made this chapter longer, so please don't try to kill me. I played around with the POVs last chapter and thought that it seemed okay, and no one said it didn't, so I'll just assume you all agree with me. If you don't, tell me. But, if you do like it better this way, still tell me, please . Anyway, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

Marinette couldn't help but chuckle, Plagg was so _cute._ He really did seem like a good match for Tikki.

Adrien and her reached the bottom floor of her room and just stood there, not really knowing what to do.

She cleared her throat and said, "So…"

He just nodded, and it felt like she could reach out and feel the awkwardness between them.

Marinette chuckled and Adrien tilted his head at her in confusion.

"One minute ago, we actually revealed our identities, something Alya would be freaking out about and now...we're just standing here in silence. As if we just went on our first date. Pure awkwardness." she explained. Then realization struck her. She had just compared how they are acting now to...people after their first date!

And to top it off, she had said it to _Chat Noir_.

She mentally face palmed. Then she heard a soft laughter coming from the blonde. It was her turn to be confused.

"Did you just say we're on a date, my lady?" Marinette saw a Chat like grin on his face and groaned.

She pointed a finger at him and responded, "You know that's not what I meant. I was just using a first date's awkwardness as a simile."

His smile faltered for a second. "Are you saying you've been on a first date before?"

Marinette could hear the hurt in his words and saw it in his eyes. He thought she liked someone else, she could sense it. The fact he didn't include 'my lady' proved it. His hurt tore at her heart.

"No, _mon chaton_. I haven't been on a date before." Marinette saw the relief in his eyes and smiled. "I have been saving that experience for someone special."

She could practically see his response written out before he said it.

"Does this mean you've been waiting for me all this time, _purrrincess_? Because, I can't leave a damsel in distress."

She laughed and decided to tease her kitty a little more."Who says I was talking about you, Adrien?"

He seemed shocked that she would actually tease him. She couldn't blame him though. She _was_ his shy classmate, after all. Not just, the brave heroine Ladybug.

Marinette chuckled again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't look so scared, kitty. You don't have to worry, I _was_ talking about you. I just couldn't help myself. The look on your face was _priceless._ "

By the look on Adrien's face he seemed to recover. And some. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down until their faces were mere inches apart. "Does that mean you _do_ want to go on a date with me?"

That question made Marinette's new found confidence towards her crush crumble. She had forgotten for a moment that he was 'her kitty.' Chat Noir. Her partner in saving Paris. The one who flirts with her constantly, because of his confidence. The one who _likes_ her.

The one who _she_ likes.

Marinette could practically feel the blood rush out of her face. How was she supposed to answer his question? _Yes! Oh my gosh, yes! I would love to go on a date with you! I have been wanting you to ask me that for over a year._

That wouldn't go over so well. Especially with him being Chat and all.

Marinette was trying to think of an answer, but it was _really_ hard with his face inches from her own. Her eyes involuntarily flicked down to his lips.

Adrien obviously noticed and laughed, leaning back at the same time. His eyes stayed locked on hers' though, waiting for an answer.

She focus a little more now, but she didn't know how she should answer him. After all of the times Alya tried to encourage her, she decided to just go for it.

"I...would, uh," she could see the hope in her kitty's eyes and she got a little more confidence to answer. She smiled as wide as she could, "I would love to go on a date with you _mon chaton_."

Marinette could see the relief that filled his eyes at her words. She laughed and pulled him into a hug.

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

 _She said yes. She said yes. Marinette agreed to go out with me!_

Adrien couldn't believe it. The most amazing girl he had ever met agreed to go on a date with him.

Instead of jumping for joy, his body decided to become frozen instead. He could feel her pull him into a hug and he would of hugged her back, but his arms stayed wrapped loosely around her waist.

Adrien remembered Ladybug telling him that she had fallen for him in her civilian form, but he could barely believe it. And now that he knew Ladybug is his classmate that he had developed feelings for...it was a dream come _true!_

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

Marinette felt Adrien not moving and instantly became worried.

She removed her arms from his neck and pulled back, studying his face. She felt his forehead and asked, "Adrien? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

When he didn't answer and just stared into his eyes with a look of shock, she became afraid.

"Ti-" She had began to yell out for her kwami, but was silenced by Adrien pulling her into a bone-crushing.

She was frozen for a second, but then she hugged him back. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity.

Marinette realized that it was long past time for patrol, but she didn't hear any screaming, so she didn't say anything.

When Adrien pulled away, he looked really happy. Marinette wondered what had been wrong a minute ago, but she didn't want to have the smile leave his face, so she didn't say anything.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her Tikki flying up to them with Plagg following behind.

Tikki announced, "It's time for patrol. Transform, so you can make sure nothing is wrong in the city."

She had to have known that patrol was supposed to start over an hour ago, but didn't say anything. Marinette smiled at her kwami in thanks.

Her and Adrien reluctantly pulled apart, so they could transform.

Marinette smiled at the blonde, then yelled out, "Tikki, spots on!"

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Tikki got sucked into Mari's earrings.

Bright pink light filled the room, and Adrien had to look away.

When the light disappeared and everything went back to normal, Adrien faced the spot where his classmate had stood a moment ago. Now, there was the spotted heroine that Adrien couldn't help but admire.

She smiled smugly at him when she caught him staring. She crossed her arms across her chest, as if daring him to transform himself.

Adrien smiled, accepting the dare. He put his fist out, as if asking for a fist bump, and shouted, "Plagg, claws out!"

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

Marinette closed her eyes when she heard Adrien's transformation phrase. She knew a bright light came afterwards, and she didn't want to become blind.

Once she didn't see anymore light behind her eyelids, Marinette opened her eyes.

Where the blonde model had stood a moment ago, now stood Chat Noir in his magical black suit.

Marinette had already known that Adrien was Chat, but she still found it a little unbelievable. She imagined that Adrien felt the same way.

When Chat saw that she was a little awestruck, he flexed his muscles and asked, "LIke what you see, my lady?"

Marinette laughed. She stepped forward and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "As if, Chat."

Chat placed a hand over his heart, acting like he was hurt. "My lady, you _wound_ me."

She laughed again before turning towards the stairs that lead to her loft. "You seemed like you needed a reminder that we're in the real world, not your fantasy world." She threw a smirk over her shoulder with that.

Marinette opened the window above her bed and climbed onto her balcony.

The wind had a slight chill, but felt nice as it hit her face. She heard Chat climb onto the balcony next to her, shutting the window as he did.

Marinette turned toward him with a smile. "Race you to the Eiffel Tower." And she was off, jumping and swinging across the rooftops of Paris.

The feel of the air breezing past her face, swept away any awkwardness that might have still lingered.

Marinette reached the top of the Eiffel Tower mere seconds before Chat. He landed on the platform right next to her without a sound.

She turned to him and smiled, "I won."

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Marinette's beautiful blue eyes glittered in the city's lights. Her shiny hair reflected the moonlight, making it look more blue than black. The smile on her face wasn't smug, like most other people's when they won. No, her's still showed kindness, somehow.

It seemed to Adrien that she was never _didn't_ show some form of kindness.

Well, except for when it came to Chloe, but that was different. Chloe was a bully, even if she was his only childhood friend. He had come to realize when he entered public school, that she wasn't as nice to anyone as she was to him. In fact, she wasn't _nice_ in general to anyone, but Sabrina and him.

Adrien looked at 'his lady' and realized just how much he had fallen for her. Both in the mask and out.

He hadn't told anyone, not even Nino, but...he had started liking Marinette a while ago. He would have tried to go out with her a lot earlier, but he still had feeling for Ladybug and felt that liking Marinette would be betraying her somehow.

Now that he knows that they are both the same person it all makes sense. And he's relieved.

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

Adrien was just staring at her with a smile on his face and she didn't know why. _Maybe it has to do with the fact that I agreed to go on a date with him?_ That was the only thing she could think of.

Marinette decided that it doesn't matter, she was going to tease him a little bit, that was always fun.

She smirked then said, "Like what you see, _mon chaton_?" She decided she was going to give him a little payback for earlier.

He blinked with his face going neutral, then he smiled. "Most definitely, my lady."

Marinette was taken aback. She hadn't expected that, but then she remembered that this was her kitty they were talking about. He was still going to flirt, and she would never admit this to anyone, but she wouldn't want it any other way.

She smiled and leaned in close, making it so he was startled by the close distance. She made it so there was not even four inches between their lips, then she whispered, "We have to patrol," and jumped to the next building. Leaving behind a flustered Chat.

After Chat recovered, the patrol was like normal, not much talking and more focus on the safety of the city and its civilians.

At the end of the patrol, they just stood there on the Eiffel Tower, not really doing anything.

Then Marinette heard Tikki say to her, " _It's after midnight. And it's a school night. I don't care if you want to talk about the reveals or feelings right now, you are both going home and getting some sleep. You can talk to each other tomorrow. Or, you can end up detransformed and walk home."_

Marinette shivered, knowing her kwami wasn't joking. She looked at Adrien and said, "Tikki is doing that thing adults do, when they threaten kids to make them go to bed. And as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I don't want to walk home from here. So, goodnight!" She leaned in and gave Chat a kiss on the chhek, then leapt off of the tower and left a frozen kitty standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

As soon as Marinette got home, she changed into her pajamas and fell onto her bed. Then, her flying red kwami landed on her stomach and smiled. "So, that was an eventful evening."

Marinette smiled. "Yes, it was. I finally got to meet the kwami you have a major crush on."

If it was possible, Tikki's cheeks got even more red. "I don't know what you're talking about. Me and Plagg are just really good friends." At Marinette's look, she continued rapidly. "Th-that whole cuddl-ly thing before, was just...uh, him being the cat kwami. Yeah. He is a cat, so he cuddles other kwamis. It's completely normal. And just a friend thing!"

Marinette just laughed at her flustered friend, it was finally someone other than her. "Oh? So what was that whole speech last night about him being 'the ying to your yang' and your 'soul mate', hmm? Was that a 'friend' thing, too? Or was that about him being a cat, somehow?" Marinette understood why people were always doing this to her now.

Tikki kept opening her mouth and closing it, not knowing what to say.

Marinette smiled and continued. "Don't worry, Tikki. I won't hold this against you. I mean, you don't hold the crush I have on Adrien and Chat against me, so it wouldn't be fair."

Tikki seemed to have retrieved her composure, from the smile on her face. "Oh, that reminds me. You have been liking Chat Noir lately, have you not? And the only reason you hadn't said anything to him was because you still had some feelings for Adrien, and you felt it was wrong to pursue someone when you had feelings for someone else, correct?"

Tikki didn't give her a chance to respond, she just continued talking. "I'm not going to have you respond to that, I'll just continue what I'm saying. So, now you have no reason to not date Chat, seeing as how he is _Adrien_ , the one who you didn't want to pursue Chat for. It's a win-win, right? Having two people you like turn out to be the same person? Anyway, I'm not going to torture you with this conversation any longer, seeing as how you and Adrien are, inevitably, going to end up acting closer tomorrow and Alya will end up interrpgating you. Which should be fun!" Tikki showed fake enthusiasm and turned off the light before Marinette could respond to anything.

Marinette was about to fall asleep when something Tikki said jumped out at her. _"Alya will end up interrogating you."_ She jumped into a sitting position and nearly screamed, "Alya is going to kill me!"

She faintly heard the red kwami chuckle and reply, "Goodnight, Marinette."

It took a while for Marinette to fall asleep after that.

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

It took a few minutes of holding his gloved hand to the cheek Marinette had kissed for Plagg to finally complain that they needed to go home.

Not one to want to face Plagg's wrath, Chat ran across the rooftops of Paris, towards the Agreste Mansion. He jumped through the window he left open and flopped down onto his bed.

There was a beep, a flash of grren light, and the sound of a hungry kwami as he de-transformed.

Plagg went to Adrien's desk, where he had left a block of camembert for the kwami. He began eating as Adrien stared at his ceiling, remembering the events of the night.

Ladybug _kissed_ him. _Marinette_ kissed him. The love of his life...kissed him.

It was on the cheek, but still, she kissed him.

Wanting to spend more time with her tomorrow, he decided to go to sleep quickly, so he could get to school early, where she'll be.

Thinking about that, the young miraculous wielder fell into a sweet dream, of him with on a date with Marinette, rather quickly.

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

The first time Marinette's alarm rang that morning, she jumped up and turned it off. She ran around the room, grabbing her clothes and getting ready.

Tikki was visible in her peripheral vision, just floating there and giggling at her chosen's haste. Marinette wanted to scowl, but she wanted to see Adrien sooner rather than later, so she continued to rush around.

Within ten minutes, she was ready, fed, holding two croissants, and running to school. She had fifteen minutes before class started, but she wanted to try to delay her conversation with Alya, along with talking to Adrien.

Alya was waiting in front of the school, staring at her, as if she knew Marinette was going to be early today.

Marinette approached her cautiously, holding out one of the croissants like a peace offering. She saw Alya's face go from one of slight anger to delight as she snatched the croissant from Marinette's hand.

Marinette sighed in relief. _This will work._

She saw Adrien out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She wanted, no... _needed_ to talk to him, but first she needed to delay this conversation with Alya.

She cleared her throat and spoke, hoping her best friend would do what she asked this one time. "Alya, I know I said I would talk to you today about what happened yesterday, but can we do it later? There is someone I need to talk to, and it's really important."

Alya had stopped shoving the pastry in her mouth and looked at Marinette. Marinette saw her eyes dart behind her, towards wher Adrien was standing. She looked back towards Marinette and smiled.

"Go talk to _Adrien_ , but you _will_ talk to me later." Marinette eagerly nodded. "You're lucky I was in the mood for a croissant today." Both of the girls laughed and Marinette walked towards Adrien.

They would only have about five minute to talk, but that's better than nothing. She walked over to him and looked into his gorgeous green eyes. She smiled then said, "Hey."

He looked back and responded, "Hey."

Marinette extended the hand holding her last croissant towards him. "Here. I grabbed an extra croissant for you."

He took it with a smile and "Thank you."

She smiled and they just stared at each other for a minute. Then they broke out laughing.

They calmed down then Adrien spoke. "Okay. That was funny. Hehe. We need to talk about a few things. But, since class is about to start, we can talk about it later." Marinette nodded ad they headed to class.

Some sudents were already in there, including Alya and Nino, who stared at the two when they came in. They sat at their seats and got their stuff out.

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Adrien saw Nathanael approach Marinette, but figured nothing of it. He knew the artist had a crush on Marinette, but he also knew Marinette liked _him_ , so he had nothing to worry about.

Then he heard the artist start to talk. "H-hey, Marinette. I was w-wondering if you wanted t-to, I-I mean...if you w-would mind, um…"

He could practially hear Marinette smile. "Hey, Nath. What do you need?"

Nathan said, "I was wondering i-if you could help m-me with some designs I-I'm working on."

Marinette, being the kind person Adrien knew she was, responded, "Of course."

Adrien could hear Nathanael's sigh of relief. "It's a date then."

Adrien whipped his head towards the artist and instinctively growled.

* * *

 **I'm sorry for the cliff hanger, really I am. I have had most of this typed up for about two weeks, but then I started crashing whenever I got home, so I never had a chance to finish it. I am posting it now though. So, school's almost over for me (two more days), then I'll have more time to write, so there will be more updates. Plus, I'm not planning on ending this anytime soon. But, I am staring another story, so I may not update this for at least a week or two, but there will be more updates soon. I still want more ideas from all of you, so please don't hesitate to comment or PM me ideas. Also, Thank You to NefeliMalfoy, for the growling Adrien idea. Until next time, Au revoir!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Bonjour, my lovely readers. I am back with another chapter of this story. I'm sorry it took so long to write, but I really hope you enjoy it, all the same. Anyway, I don't want to waste anymore of your time, so let's get on with the story. (Oh, and by the way, my keyboard doesn't have the two dots, for above Nathanael's name, so please imagine it's written.)**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 _Adrien whipped his head towards the artist and instinctively growled._

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Adrien watched as the look on Nathanael's face turned from one of pure happiness, to outright terror. He felt kind of bad, but Nathanael had just asked Marinette out on a date. _His_ Marinette.

He knew he was overreacting, that Marinette was just being the kind person she was and actually liked him (AN: _him_ being Adrien), but since he became Chat Noir, he has developed animal instincts. As Chat, he runs on all fours sometimes. As Adrien, he has been drinking tons of milk, hissing when he's angry and being more shy than ever before (AN: a trait in cats if they lack socialization, which our Adrien definitely does, but we're working on that). And now apparently he should add in being territorial.

Luckily for him, only Nathanael, Marinette, Alya, and Nino heard him growl.

Unfortunately for him, Alya and Nino heard him growl.

Adrien looked at Marinette and saw her confused expression. It seemed to him that she wasn't mad, though, so he's all good. Even if Alya and Nino pester him forever about it, he won't care, as long as Marinette isn't upset with him.

Adrien looked back towards Nathanael and yup, he's still scared. But now, he looks a bit less like he's going to go run and hide under one of the desks in the classroom, and more like he's going to ask why Adrien practically just threatened him for asking out the girl of his dreams.

Nathanael's mouth opened and he asked, "Ummmmm, why did you just growl and look at me like you wanted to rip my throat out?"

Adrien's instincts wanted him to tell Nathanael that Mari was _his_ , but then his thoughts were interrupted by him realizing how the artist phrased that question. Then, he wanted to laugh.

He soon realized that four people were waiting for his answer, so he tried to think of something that would satisfy everyone, without breaking Nathanael's heart, angering Mari, or tipping off Alya and Nino that the superheroes liked each other, which would most likely anger Mari if they found out this way, now.

After a few seconds, he only had one idea, which wasn't that good, but Adrien was pretty sure that someone would snap if the silence continued for any longer.

So, he cleared his throat, then announced, "I overheard you talking to Mari, and the way you phrased asking her out on a date made it seem like you wanted to hang out soon. And I already asked Mari to help me with something after school for a while, soooo…"

That just made things ten times more awkward.

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

Marinette wasn't entirely sure what had gotten into Adrien.

He just went all berserk after Nathanael...oh. Nath had asked her to help him with some drawings and she had said yes, not thinking of it as a date for even a moment. Then, she remembered the whole Evillustrator thing and...wow. Marinette was really oblivious sometimes.

She saw Nath's expression go from confused and scared to confused and...hurt. That hurt Marinette's heart, but she only liked him as a friend, and she won't even have him as that if she doesn't let him down easy. Plus, if she lets him down hard, they might end up with an akumatized Nathanael on their hands.

Marinette watched Alya's expression out of the corner of her eye the whole time. She saw it go from shock that Adrien growled menacingly, to confusion that Adrien was acting protective of her best friend when Marinette had just gotten over her crush on him, to one of hurt, when she must have jumped to the conclusion that they were dating behind her back and her best friend had even lied to her about it.

Marinette heard Adrien's cover story, but it really only opened the door for more questions. She saw Adrien come to the same conclusion, and start to worry.

She realized that she had to work off of what Adrien said, and not reveal anything not meant to be revealed at the same time.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Nath, but I promised Adrien I would help him with a project after school for a while. I completely forgot. Is there any way that I could help during lunch today?" Marinette really hoped he said yes, and Adrien stayed quiet until he left.

The artist visibly relaxed, replying "Y-yeah, y-yes, of course. It won't take too long, I just wanted to show you my designs and s-see if there are any t-things y-you think I should add."

Marinette smiled. "Okay, no problem. I'll see you at lunch."

Nathanael nodded, blushing, turned, and walked back to his desk.

Marinette dreaded turning around to face Alya, but knew she had to do it sooner or later, so she decided to get the conversation over with. She rotated her body as slow as she could, until she was facing her now-furious, best friend.

She mustered up a small smile and a weak, "Hey."

Alya was facing her with her arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot, giving off the 'you got something to tell me?' vibe.

Marinette sneaked a look at Adrien and Nino. Nino turned around to face the front of the classroom, whistling, which gave him the 'I didn't see anything, and I don't know anything' vibe.

Adren was looking at Alya, until he saw Marinette look at him, then he faced her. She saw the nervous look on his face, then. The one that no doubtedly matched her own.

They both turned to look at the mad brunette at the same time.

Alya looked between the two of them, then focused on Mari. "It's time for that talk, now."

* * *

 **AN: PLEASE READ**

 **I know this chapter is pretty short compared to my recent chapters, but I just wanted to get it out so that there wasn't over a month between chapters, again. I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to update again, since I'm going on vacation this Sunday and staying for a week, but I will do my best to update before August 19 (a month from today) and have that chapter be longer than this one. So, for those of you who are sticking with this story, I am extremely grateful, and you guys are the best. And I promise this story won't be ending for a long time, so in between chapters, when there are large breaks, don't worry about my ending this, I will tell you when there are only a few chapters left, but I will NOT end this all of a sudden. I will try to update more frequently, but I'm not promising times anymore, since I hate breaking promises and that almost always happens when I create a deadline for myself, because things always pop up and I end up having to do something, then I forget about writing, and this whole thing that leads to a month between updates.**

 **Anyway, thank you to those who read this story and have read through this whole thing of my rambling, I appreciate every single one of you more than you will ever know, and I do all of this for you. And as a side note, I just checked and there were 10,203 views, 76 followers, 51 favorites, and 16 reviews (all of which were kind and made me smile). I never thought this many people would be interested in my writing, but I'm glad all of you are. You are all the best people ever! And if any of you have any ideas for future chapters or have constructive criticism, feel free to leave a review or PM me.**

 **Until next time, au revoir!**

 **And to jerry- Thank you for the suggestion, I just started reading that story. If I find any ideas and add them to the story, I will make sure to mention you.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Bonjour! I'm so, so, sorry! I had said that I was going to post once a month, and I couldn't even do that. I've been procrastinating everything this summer that has to do with even the tiniest amount of thinking. Summer book report, math packet, and this, too, apparently. I need to catch up on those, so this chapter is going to probably be the shortest one of the story. That's enough of the excuses, let's get on with the story.**

 **Chapter 11**

 _ **Alya looked between the two of them, then focused on Mari. "It's time for that talk. Now."**_

 _ **Adrien's POV**_

Adrien had originally been relieved that Marinette covered for him, but then Alya had made that relief disappear in an instant. Nothing was scarier than Alya was when she was mad. And when her best friend was hiding something from her, she was _defintiely_ mad.

Adrien looked over at Marinette in time to see her gulp at Alya's glare.

There was two ways this was going to end. With Alya congratulating them on becoming a couple, and doing that excited fangirl squeal thing that girls do. Or, the bad way, Alya being furious at them for not telling her and never talking to them again. The second way would cause Nino to take sides, and he could side with Alya, never speaking to Adrien again, and-

 _Woah, slow down, cowboy. Don't get ahead of yourself. Just focus on this moment in time, not the future. You won't lose all of your friends because you didn't mention something to Alya._

Back to Earth, Adrien realized it was probably his turn to take over, since Mari saved him, he should save her.

Adrien tried to get Alya's attention focused on him. "What talk are you talking about? Would it happen to be the one about Mari and I having plans this week? Because if it is, Mari and I just made the plans yesterday, so she wouldn't have had a chance to have told you yet."

Alya had turned to him when he started talking. She replied, "That's only part of it. There's also the fact that you just growled at Nathanael when he asked Mari out on a date. Oh, and what the heck happened yesterday, hmm? You guys were just staring at each other. You didn't even notice me standing there."

Her questions went unanswered. She continued. "That's what I thought. Now, there's no reason to try and hide it, I already know _everything_."

Both the teens looked at each other fearfully, then looked back at Alya. _There was no way she could know that we're Ladybug and Chat Noir...right?_

Adrien got up the nerve to ask, "You do?"

Alya smirked, then responded, "Of course. It's so obvious."

No one in the little group said anything for a full minute. Conversations continued around the rest of the classroom, but the group of friends couldn't pay attention to any of that.

Ayla furrowed her brow. "You guys are dating, right? With you hiding all those pictures, and pretty boy over here being all possessive? What is so scary about that?"

The two teens sighed in relief. She only knew about their relationship, not their superhero alieses.

Adrien replied, "Yeah, we are. As of yesterday. We...just thought you were talking about something else. Right, Mari?"

He turned towards Marinette, expecting her to agree with him. He only saw fear on her face as she looked at Alya. What had Alya said that Adrien didn't catch? She knows everything, it's so obvious, they're dating, Mari hiding pictures, him being...wait. What pictures?

He asked Mari, "What pictures?"

 **So, this is really short. I'm going to try and update soon and make it longer. I've just been really lazy this summer. I've basically just been watching Netflix and listening to Imagine Dragons songs on repeat. I'm going to try to start updating more regularly, but with getting ready for school, things are a little crazy right now. I'll try to do better, I promise! Until next time, au revoir!**

 **P.S. Please leave suggestions for future chapters, I'm running out of ideas.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, y'all! I'm back for another chapter of this story, and in less than a month this time! I am still** _ **very**_ **sorry about my last update being late, when I only post once a month, so I'm still beating myself over that. So, I'm posting a little early this time. Anyway, I don't want to waste anymore of your time, so let's get on with the story!**

 **Chapter 12**

 _ **He asked Mari, "What pictures?"**_

 _ **Marinette's POV**_

 _Oh no._

That was Marinette's first thought once she realized that Alya had let a detail of her, um... _noticeable_ crush slip through. [It definitely _wasn't_ obsessive _at all._ ]

She could only stare at Alya in fear and hope that Adrien didn't notice that little detail about the pictures. [Which is evidence of her crush being a _tad bit_ obsessive.]

Of course, with her luck (despite being the super heroine _Ladybug_ , who is known for her luck), Adrien noticed. Marinette could tell when she saw him furrow his brow.

And, you know, asking 'What pictures?' was a dead give away, too.

She saw Alya look at her with that look that said ' _I didn't mean to let that slip'._ Marinette, being the sweet girl she was, offered her best friend her best ' _it's-fine'_ smile she could. She watched Alya relax then look over at Adrien, and she knew it was time to face the inevitable.

She looked the blonde, who she wasn't sure was her boyfriend or not, but she knew she definitely _wanted_ to be her boyfriend, in the eye and said, "Pictures of puppies."

-Or, you know, _not_.

Marinette saw Alya face-palm, and couldn't help but mentally do it herself.

' _Pictures of puppies', where did she even think of that?_

She looked at Adrien for his reaction and saw that he was even more confused, so she decided to make up a story that-"I used to use pictures of puppies as my inspiration for designing, but I decided that using a-ahem-model might work a little bit better."-hopefully, sounds realistic.

It was becoming quite obvious that she doesn't think around Adrien. Luckily, he seemed to buy the story, because he turned around in his seat to talk to Nino, just when the teacher walked in.

Marinette looked over at Alya, who seemed broken, from being exasperated at her lovestruck best friend, and even more exasperated at the oblivious blonde. She was waving her hands around, gesturing to the blonde and raven-haired girl, and opening and closing her mouth with no words coming out, just incoherent noises.

Said raven-haired girl, put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, saying, "I know." Her words didn't completely calm the brunette, but at least they made her stop gesturing around like a crazy person. Now, she was only mumbling to herself like a crazy person.

Marinette turned towards the teacher as class began. As the lesson started, she couldn't help but think one thing.

 _For once, I'm glad Adrien is completely oblivious._

 **PLEASE READ**

 **Okay, so I know that this chapter is pretty short, but there is something I wanted to talk to y'all about. So, I'm sure by now most of you have noticed that I update around 1,000 words once a month, and I try to do more, but sometimes I can't. Now, I wanted to ask all of you for your opinion, because I value it very much. Do you guys want me to keep doing what I'm doing, 1,000 words a month, or do you want me to try to update like 400-600 words, once a week? I always try to update a couple days after I last updated, and I'm all like, "I'm going to do it. I'm going to finally post a chapter early. They'll finally be proud of me." Then, I get a few hundred words in and get writer's block, until the day I end up updating, where I practically force the creative juices to flow. And I just realized I'm rambling, but so please tell me which you'd prefer me do, and I'll tally votes, and all of that. And other news, this story now has 61 favorites and 97 followers! I'm always so happy when I get the email saying that another person has taken an interest in my writing. And to all of you who are reading this whole note, I just feel like you should know that I feel like you're all some of my best friends, even though I've never met you, and, so, yeah. You guys are the best. Anyway, feel free to PM me, and reviews are always appreciated.**

 **Until next time, au revoir!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Bonjour! So, as you all know, I asked in the last chapter if you thought I should update once a week or once a month, and all of the votes I got were for once a week so, I'm going to be trying that in the future. Now, I'm sorry that I asked when I should update again and now I'm updating a month later. I'm not sure if that sentence made sense. Anyway, I'm going to start the chapter now, and please read the AN at the end of this very, very short chapter.**

 **Chapter 13**

 _Adrien's POV_

Well that conversation with Marinette about puppy pictures was a little odd to Adrien. He figured it was just some girl thing though, so he dismissed it.

Adrien couldn't really pay attention to what the teacher was talking about,with the whole identity reveal thing. He decided that he was going to talk to her during the lunch break, no matter what ALya had to say about it.

Once the lunch bell rang, Adrien couldn't drag Mari out of the class fast enough. He heard the reporter argue, but he couldn't care. He dragged Mari outside under a tree, where it's secluded and no one is near yet. He says, "We need to talk. Now."

 _Mari's POV_

So, Marinette was planning on talking to ALya during lunch, so that she could smooth things over with her best friend, but nope. That wasn't happening. Instead, she was dragged away by the blonde model, who sat in front of her in class everyday, and was the object that was causing trouble for her at the moment. So, basically, he was getting her in trouble and didn't seem to care.

So, when he said they needed to talk, she crossed her arms and glared at him. "Yes, we do. But, we can do that on patrol tonight. I need to talk to ALya now, unless of course, you want my best friend to hate me and me to end up hating you because of that."

She saw him go from demanding, to flabbergasted, and she had to admit it was kind of funny. He then turned sheepish and said, "I hadn't thought of that."

Marinette smiled and responded, "It's fine. I'm going to talk to you later. I need to deal with-"

"AGRESTE!" came the sometimes- terrifying voice of the raven-haired girl's best friend.

They both simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Uh-oh."

 **AN: PLEASE READ**

 **So, school has restarted, and I had high school marching band (while I'm not in high school yet :) ), and a bunch of other stuff and the point is I'm pretty swamped and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to update again. It may end up being a little over a month, or well over a month, but either way I probably won't be updating for awhile. There are a bunch of other personal things going on, too, and I need to deal with them. So, I'm going to be taking a break for a while. It will by no means be forever, I am not one of those people who will start something and neverfinish it, I have read the fanfics that have done that and I remember how it felt, so I'm not ending this by any means. I will continue thisand finish it, just not now, and there's going to be a break. I am not lying to any of you right now and I should definitely update at least once by the middle of November. THat's all I have to say right now, so au revoir!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I HAVE A POLL UP, VOTE!**

 **Hey, y'all! I'm sure you're wondering why I put the little poll tidbit up above, and well I put it there because I'm well aware that a lot of people don't read ANs, and I want to know what you guys want to see more of. Thus the poll. I'm glad to say that I have some more ideas for this fic, I still want your guys' opinions and ideas though. I'm going to be starting the 'update a week' thing I believe this week. I am by no chance going to say "I will be updating this day every week." No. I'd be lying to you, then, since I'm awful with deadlines. I'm going to be doing my best though. Now, let's get on with the story!**

Chapter 14

 _Marinette's POV_

 _They both simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Uh-oh."_

Marinette looked over at the fuming brunette stomping towards her. She could practically feel the waves of anger rolling off her best friend and she knew they were directed at the model standing next to her.

She was glad her friend's anger was directed at someone other than her, because Alya was seriously scary when she was mad. She immediately felt bad after thinking that, since her anger was aimed towards Adrien, which was a disaster to come. She needed to play peacekeeper.

Marinette jumped into Alya's line of sight, blocking Adrien from her wrath and said, "Hey, Alya. Beautiful weather we're having, right?" It was a sorry attempt, but at least it was an attempt.

Alya just glared at her, "Out of the way, Marinette. I have a score to settle with pretty boy over here."

As if 'pretty boy' was his name, Adrien peeked out from behind Marinette to look at Alya. "You think I'm pretty? I'm flattered Alya, but I'm interested in som-"

"Can it, Agreste!" Alya didn't even hesitate to interrupt him once she reached the duo. "You must have known that I had to talk to Marinette after class, since you and her are so close. And yet you just dragged her out of the room like you were the one with plans with her. Which is not the case, since Marinette and I discussed our plans this morning. So, Agreste, what exactly gave you the idea that you could waste my time interrogating my best friend?" By the end of her rant, she had her arms crossed and was glaring at the model, who was now not sheltered by Marinette whatsoever.

Adrien was visibly nervous, since his fingers were fumbling and his next words came out as a stutter. "I-I, um, nee-ne-needed to ask M-Ma-Marinette something, a-and I di-didn't know you nee-needed to talk to her."

Alya was now tapping her foot. "Oh, really? You really needed to ask her something? Something so important that you didn't let me talk to her? And what was so important that you dragged my best friend out of class, so that I couldn't talk to her? Hmm? What did you need to talk to her about?"

Adrien flushed. Marinette knew she needed to interject herself into this confrontation, seeing as how she is the cause of all this trouble.

"Hey, Alya. How about we walk over there and talk about those things we needed to talk about? Yeah, let's do that." Marinette started to drag Alya away, but Alya was having none of it.

"What is going on with you two? You guys were just staring at each other yesterday, looking at each other like you were surprised, then confused, then I don't even know, the emotions on your faces changing so fast, while neither of you were saying anything. Then you guys are suddenly all chummy the next day, acting as if you have always been that way. Then, there was the 'we're dating' bomb. What happened yesterday?"

Marinette was speechless, and from the look on Adrien's face, along with him being silent, it was obvious he was, too. Alya had noticed their little stare down and was confronting them about it. They were going to need to do something about this.

Marinette looked at Adrien. They both knew they needed to say something to Alya, anything…

Except the truth of course.

 **I'm so sorry guys. I want to update more often and to do that I'll be making shorter chapters...which means more cliff hangers. But, after this weekend, I should be having to only focus on schoolwork, marching band, and my other hobbies like writing this. As a little sum up of my last month, though, I have had all the basic teenage things (school, homework, tests, cleaning, etc.), but I've also been getting read to move and have been dealing with financial issues (all fixed up now, though) and it's been a major stressor. Plus, there's also the whole depression thing, having a total of 1...2...I think 5 friends, doesn't really help when I have a lot more than 5 people who pick on me. But you know, it's all fine. I got all you people and my best friend who has been an angel through all of this (to me that is, not the other people, she's been the opposite of angelic to them (they're not dead though)) that's good enough for me. So, to the people who have read all of this, you are amazing and are angels in my book. I'm going to be less emotional in future chapters.**

 **Until next time, au revoir!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! Sorry for that** _ **ginormous**_ **gap between chapters, I've had a bunch of things happening. I was studying for this big entrance exam I had for a school I really want to go to, and am now starting to prepare for the interview phase. I had waited for a little less than 2 months to find out if I even got to that part of the admission phase (2 entire months of waiting for test scores is** _ **nerve wracking**_ **). Then there were the holidays, where everything is chaos. Then, basically everyone around me was getting sick left and right, so** _ **naturally**_ **I got sick (has anyone else been sick for a week, too) and had a constant migraine, not exactly the best condition for writing. And finally, was the regular writing block. So, I feel really bad for all these gaps, but I'm trying. With that stuff out of the way, let's get on to the story.**

 **Chapter 15**

 _Adrien's POV_

Adrien decided what he was going to say.

"Mari is Ladybug and I'm Chat Noir and we just discovered we love each other."

He was going to go with the can't-possibly-be-true-but-actually-is route, it would probably work the best with Alya. Though, when sneaking a glance at Mari, she looked horrified and extremely angry at the same time. The expression just turned to a furious glare as she seemed to figure out what was going through his head. She wasn't happy he decided this route, it seemed.

Alya's eyes narrowed as she stepped up to Adrien and poked him in the chest. "You cannot be making a mockery of the heroes of Paris right now. You can't possibly be stupid enough to do it. Even _you_ aren't that stupid."

Adrien felt offended. 'Even _he_ wasn't that stupid.' What was that supposed to mean?

He felt himself a little, _teensy_ bit angry.

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not stupid. I have good grades."

Alya went from being mad, defender of her heroes, to the teen reporter who always knows something he doesn't.

Except for his and Mari's secret identities, of course. She doesn't know those.

Well, he did just tell them to her, but that was beside the point. She was giving him that mischievous grin that told him she knew something.

Something _bad._ For him, at least.

Adrien snuck a glance at Mari, just to see that she looked horrified too.

What was Alya going to do?

Alya then did one of those smiles that was the so-innocent-that-it-can't-possibly-actually-be-innocent smiles. "Well, you know. If one of your classmates reported to your father's assistant (Natalie isn't it?) that they felt you were slacking in class. You know, not paying attention and not participating on a group assignment we're working on. What do you think would happen? I mean isn't Chloe always volunteering to help you and bragging about her grades?"

Adrien could only imagine how horrified his face looked as he shivered. _That_ was when Alya's grin truly turned evil.

Marinette's face was a mirror of what he imagined his to be. "Alya-"

Alya interrupted Mari with, "How about this? You tell me what I really want to know. The _truth_. And I won't say a word to Natalie. That sound fair?"

Adrien's mouth was opening and closing, like a fish trying to breathe. "B-but I am _n-n-not_ failing any classes! That would be lying!"

Alya shrugged. "Then, how about you just tell me the truth. Then, I won't tell Natalie anything, and you won't be saddled with Chloe."

Adrien's shoulders sagged and he looked towards Marinette, hoping she had a solution to the situation.

 _Marinette's POV_

Marinette had no idea what to do. She saw what Adrien had been trying to do, and she hadn't liked it. But at least he was trying to fix his own mistake.

Now, from the look on Adrien's face, it seemed neither of them had any idea of a solution.

Mari looked at Alya. She had to figure out a way to lie to her best friend. Obviously, the truth didn't work.

"Alya...can you please just let this be?"

She was going for the pleading path. Alya was her best friend, so hopefully she would stop if Mari told her to.

Alya looked at Mari, probably seeing the pleading look in her eyes, and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll forget the whole 'Adrien-stealing-my-best-friend-who-I-had-plans-with' thing. But! Only, because you seem to really, really want me to."

Mari smiled and jumped to hug her best friend. "Thank you! I swear I'll make it up to you!"

Alya chuckled. "How about you buy me lunch? I'm starving after yelling at pretty boy."

Marinette smiled and laughed. "Well, I guess that would work up an appetite."

 _Adrien's POV_

He just stared after the girls as they walked away. Their elbows were locked together to keep them upright as they were skipping and laughing hysterically.

 _How did that…?_

Suddenly, Adrien felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and he jumped.

"Yeah. Girls make no sense, dude." His best friend said from right next to him, with a smile on his face from being able to scare his best friend.

Adrien looked back towards Alya and Marinette, wondering how the situation changed so quickly.

"Yeah...Wait, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you say that you and Marinette are Ladybug and Chat Noir, while also being madly in love with each other."

Adrien's heart froze. Nino hadn't said that Adrien _joked_ about him and Marinette being Paris's superheroes. No, Nino may actually believe what he said.

 _Oh no._

 **Okay, so I just have to repeat what I said before. I'm really sorry for the long break, and I have been trying to write this chapter for, like, 2 weeks, but every time I was sitting in front of my laptop (ready to type), I just couldn't think if anything. At least I tried to make this chapter longer. That counts for something, right? Anyway, I am kindof running out of ideas for this story, so feel free to comment or PM me ideas. I'll be trying to update sometime this week, but I'm not making any promises, those never end well for me.**

 **Until next time, au revoir!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So, it's been awhile since I've updated. I know. I honestly am not sure why it took so long. I've just been doing so many things that I haven't really had the time or inspiration. On a happy note, though, I got into the school I wanted to! Yay! And before we get to this late chapter, I'm going to have a pretty important author note at the bottom of this. And finally, on to the story!**

 **Chapter 16**

 _Adrien's heart froze. Nino hadn't said that Adrien joked about him and Marinette being Paris's superheroes. No, Nino may actually believe what he said._

 _Oh no._

 _Adrien's POV_

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah. It was an attempt at calming Alya down. A joke to, hopefully, get her to laugh instead of ripping my head off."

He chuckled again to, hopefully, make it more believable. "It didn't work out that way, but it still worked out. Thanks to Marinette."

Just mentioning Mari brought her to the front of his mind. He thought of her smile, her laugh and sighed happily.

Nino's voice pulled Adrien back to reality.

"Woah, dude. You really fell for Mari, huh?"

Adrien looked at Nino sheepishly. "Yeah. She's...amazing. No, more than that. She's…"

Not to appear tacky, but…

"Miraculous."

Adrien got lost in his thoughts about Mari again. Until he heard Nino start to laugh.

He jerked back to reality and looked at Nino, completely confused. "What's so funny?"

Nino calmed down enough to say "Y-you-you were never even close to this mesmerized about Ladybug. _Ladybug_. You have _totally_ fallen for Mari. Like, so. Totally. Fallen. Like, totally."

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, I get it, Nino. I got it the first time you said it." He had a blush on his cheeks, but he wasn't embarrassed.

He was happy for the first time in forever, and nothing could change that.

 **So...I feel very bad saying, or rather type, this. So, I haven't updated this in 3 months, which is a long time, and I've been thinking that I may be taking a break from this story for a while. It won't be forever, just until I get more inspiration. I know that I've taken more than one break before, and that's the main reason I feel so bad. And this next thing is definitely not going to make things better, but I've been thinking about starting a new story. Now, before anyone tries to kill me or say how stupid I am, I have to say that I tend to get more inspiration when I'm writing more than one thing at once. Sort of like how when working on homework, it's better to switch between classes rather than taking a break. Anyway, I feel super bad and am rewatching all the episodes, feeling even more frustrated by their obliviousness. It's already gotten my creative side going, so working on something else for a while should help me come back to this better than ever. But, everyone should still feel welcome to give me any ideas they like, which I ALWAYS read and appreciate. I'm so sorry guys, and you are all awesome and the best to put up with all of this.**

 **Until next time, au revoir!**


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